Breaking Waves: Ocean News

07/29/2025 - 11:18
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to revoke key scientific finding that allows for US climate regulation Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 09:00
Although the trends can be hard to perceive, we are making incredible progress on global poverty, health, longevity and climate change Don’t fret the future. A lot of people do, and for powerful reasons – we are facing enormous challenges unprecedented in human history, from climate change and nuclear war to engineered pandemics and malicious artificial intelligence. A 2017 survey showed that nearly four in 10 Americans think that climate change alone has a good chance of triggering humanity’s extinction. But we seem largely blind to the many profound reasons for hope – and it’s not entirely our fault. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 07:30
Former energy officials raise alarm about tariffs, cuts and other policies creating uncertainty in geothermal industry Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential. Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it “an awesome resource that’s under our feet”. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 06:00
Developing snorkelling trails is part of my job, but I never tire of the teeming underwater life and seeing some of the least crowded parts of Britain’s coast People always ask me: isn’t it too cold to snorkel in Scotland? And I reply that while it’s obviously much cooler than it would be in Spain, the sea does warm up from May, when the temperature rises from about 9C to as high as 12-15C by August and September. I go snorkelling in Scotland all year round. I work for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, developing snorkel trails on the Scottish coast and creating guides to the places you can go to enjoy snorkelling in a particular area. But even so, the Wildlife Trust always recommends wearing a wetsuit. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 03:00
Pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019 were compared against scientific study that used satellite imagery to count slicks Just 474 out of more than 90,000 oil slicks from ships around the world were reported to authorities over a five-year period, it can be revealed, and barely any resulted in any punishment or sanctions. The figure, obtained from Lloyd’s List by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations, shows the pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019, compared against a scientific study using satellite imagery that counted the number of slicks from ships over the same period. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 02:56
Ofwat finds company breached its legal obligations in how it operated its wastewater treatment works Business live – latest updates The water regulator, Ofwat, has ordered Anglian Water to pay £62.8m over failures in managing its wastewater treatment works and network that meant it was unable to cope with sewage flows. The regulator found that the company, which supplies water to 7 million customers across the east of England and Hartlepool, “failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets adequately”, leading to a breach of its legal obligations. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 02:00
Research shows difficulties ahead for ministers if they are to keep manifesto pledge to extend riverside public access Campaigners in Devon are calling for a right to the riverbank after finding their local river, the Dart, has 108 separate owners, with an eighth of it owned via offshore companies. Locals used site visits, angling maps, Companies House records and Land Registry data to find out who owns the River Dart. Continue reading...
07/29/2025 - 01:03
Independent MP Jacqui Scruby says she saw ‘fresh koala scratchings on trees just metres from clear-felling’ in parts of proposed Great Koala national park Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Minns government has lost its way on environmental policy, according to the New South Wales opposition, the Greens and a member of the crossbench, after government data revealed a 40% surge in land clearing across the state. The report is the latest headache for a state government under pressure over conservation concerns, including continued logging in a promised koala park in the state’s north and the failure of a koala translocation project in the state’s south. Continue reading...
07/28/2025 - 23:01
Government launches licensing round for 52 fossil fuel blocks, potentially undermining a flagship conservation initiative and affecting an estimated 39 million people The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is opening crucial gorilla habitats and pristine forests to bids for oil and gas drilling, with plans to carve up more than half the country into fossil fuel blocks. The blocks opened for auction cover 124m hectares (306m acres) of land and inland waters described by experts as the “world’s worst place to prospect for oil” because they hold vast amounts of carbon and are home to some of the planet’s most precious wildlife habitats, including endangered lowland gorillas and bonobo. Continue reading...
07/28/2025 - 19:59
Authorities relocated 80,000 residents from China’s capital after registering rainfall of up to 543 mm in some districts More than 30 people have been killed by heavy rain and flooding in Beijing and a neighbouring region, state media have reported, as tens of thousands more were evacuated from China’s capital. State broadcaster CCTV said that as of midnight on Monday, 28 people had died in Beijing’s hard-hit Miyun district and two others in Yanqing district as of midnight. Both are outlying parts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown. Continue reading...